About

Our Mission

Frameline’s mission is to change the world through the power of queer cinema. As a media arts non-profit, Frameline’s programs connect filmmakers and audiences in San Francisco and around the world.

Exhibition

Founded in 1977, the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival is the longest-running, largest and most widely recognized LGBT film exhibition event in the world. As a community event with an annual attendance of 60,000, the Festival is the most prominent and well-attended LGBT arts program in the Bay Area. Frameline also presents year-round exhibitions, including Frameline Encore, a free film series highlighting diverse, socially relevant works. Year-round programs also include members-only sneak previews and special events, as well as special screenings and events featuring directors, actors and other queer media icons.

Distribution

Established in 1981, Frameline Distribution is the only nonprofit distributor that solely caters to LGBTQ film. Frameline’s collection has over 250 award winning films and we have partnerships with universities, public libraries, film festivals, and community groups. In 2008, Frameline Distribution launched Youth In Motion, a program that provides free LGBT-themed films and curriculum resources to California Gay-Straight Alliances. In 2011, we launched Frameline Voices, a new effort to showcase diverse LGBTQ stories with an emphasis on films by and about people of color, transgender people, youth, and elders. The content featured on Frameline Voices is free and you can now enjoy the best of our distribution collection anytime on your computer, Smartphone, TV, or other device.

Filmmaker Support

Since 1990, more than 100 films and videos have been completed with assistance from the Frameline Completion Fund. Grants are awarded annually and provide much-needed support to filmmakers for their final editing and lab work. Once completed, these films often go on to receive international exposure. Submissions include documentary, educational, narrative, animation, and experimental projects about LGBT people and their communities. Frameline also supports filmmakers and the LGBT community through the Frameline Generations Filmmaker Workshop, which brings youth and elders together to write, shoot and edit their own films to tell their own stories.